


The Clock Moves

by laira348



Series: Too soon [5]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-02
Updated: 2015-12-02
Packaged: 2018-05-04 14:30:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 959
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5337539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/laira348/pseuds/laira348
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Emma receives an important item, time starts moving and Regina confronts Gold.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Clock Moves

Emma was sitting on the bed in her new room, looking around. The room was beautiful, just like everything in this house. She still couldn’t believe it was her home now.

To her surprise she liked Jefferson. At times he seemed like he stepped out of a novel, with his strange clothes and mannerisms, but he was nice and funny. Of course, most of her foster parents acted nicely at the beginning, too. But Jefferson seemed sincere. And he made delicious cocoa.

Not that she rated parenting skills based on cocoa-making. But it was nice.

She already unpacked all of her things – not that it took a long time – and wasn’t quite sure what to do now. Jefferson left her alone to settle in here while he made dinner and while she appreciated the chance to be alone for a while to process everything she was growing quite lonely.

But that was the thing – maybe she didn’t have to be alone anymore. It was a novelty to Emma, but she noticed before that Jefferson was lonely as well. He would understand how it feels and help her feel like she belongs. It was a bit too soon to put such faith in him, but maybe for once she could try to trust someone.  
*  
“Do you like fairytales?” Jefferson asked her after dinner.

“Fairytales?” Emma repeated. “Sure. Everyone likes fairytales. Why?”

“I inquired an interesting book recently. I thought you might like it – as a welcoming gift of sorts.”

He handed her a pretty book bound in brown leather with the words ’Once upon a time’ written on the cover in gold. She flicked through the pages, stopping on a picture of a howling wolf, the text on the opposite page spoke of a man raised by wolves. It seemed like an interesting book.

“Thank you. I’m sure I’ll enjoy it.”

That evening she opened the book again, deciding to read a bit of it during her free time before bedtime.

And at that moment – 8:15 to be precise – something very important happened. But it wasn’t till the morning that anyone noticed the clock started moving.  
*  
Regina stopped in front of the clock tower, staring at it. It was impossible. The time couldn’t be moving.

How the hell did it happen? Did Gold do something? She was still too scared to go talk to him before, but now it was inevitable, so now she marched into the shop against her better judgment armed only with fake confidence.

“Gold!” she yelled. “We need to speak!”

After a moment of silence Gold emerged from the curtain. He was dressed in one of his black suits, wearing a smirk on his human face. She wasn’t entirely sure whether she expected the imp – Rumplestiltskin – to show up or not.

“What brings you to my shop today, Madam Mayor?” he asked conversationally.

“You know very well why I’m here,” she snapped.

“Do I?”

“Yes, you do, Rumplestiltskin,” she spoke his real name, expecting him to cover at least a little. Instead, he chuckled.

“Right. So now we know who we’re dealing with, don’t we, your majesty?”

So he really remembered. She was sure he would – why else would he break Belle out of the asylum? – but the clarity was frightening. She could try to fool herself - but he was the one with the power, particularly now.

“So I ask you again – why are you here? One would think you would avoid me after I found out, or did you just come to provoke me?”

Yes, why was she here? Anything that made her come here to the shop must’ve been insignificant compared to Gold and what he would no doubt do to her.

Even then she didn’t let her unease show. She still had her dignity, even if it was the only thing she had left.

“The clock is moving.”

“Did you finally tell Marco to fix it?” he asked, like he didn’t know what she was talking about.

“No, it’s moving! Time is moving!”

“Oh, that.” And that was all he said.

“Did you do it?” she asked before she could think better of it.

“But, your majesty, you know just well as I do that I have no magic here. How could I accomplish such a feat?”

“Someone must’ve done it,” she replied dumbly.

“Or maybe your curse is simply fading.”

“It’s your curse!”

“Maybe. But the time isn’t your biggest problem, dearie.”

She gulped. Was this the moment? Is he really going to do this to her after everything?

“Your biggest problem is me. Your only luck is that cleaning blood of the counter is the last thing I want to do right now. But I won’t hesitate to kill you if I deem it necessary, so I would advise you to stay away,” he threatened, his voice low and dangerous.

“Of course,” she mumbled, glad to still be alive, and left the shop.  
*  
As soon as the queen was out of the shop, Rumplestiltskin went to the backroom. Belle was sitting on the cot here, reading just as peacefully as she was when he left. He sighed with relief. This was her first day outside of their home. The last thing he needed was Regina to scare her.

She looked up with a smile that he returned right away. “Did you sell anything?”

“No, sweetheart, I didn’t. The mayor just had some questions that couldn’t wait till the next council meeting.”

She nodded and closed her book. “You look tired. Maybe we should head home?”

“Are you sure? It was your idea to open the shop today.”

“We can come back tomorrow. We have all the time we need.”

“Yes, we do.”

And just like that everything was right again.


End file.
